1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to battery thermal management systems and thermoelectric cooling and heating batteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
High performance batteries for use in large systems (including, for example, lithium based batteries used in electrical vehicles) have certain properties that make thermal management of the batteries and/or containment system desirable. Charging characteristics of high performance batteries change at elevated temperatures and can cause the cycle life of the batteries to decrease significantly if they are charged at too high of a temperature. For example, the cycle life of some lithium based batteries decreased by over 50% if they are repeatedly charged at about 50° C. Since cycle life can be reduced by a large amount, the lifetime cost of batteries can be greatly increased if charging temperatures are not controlled within proper limits. Also, some high performance batteries can exhibit reduced performance and can be possibly damaged if charged or operated at too low of temperatures, such as below about −30° C. Furthermore, high performance batteries and arrays of high performance batteries can experience thermal events from which the batteries can be permanently damaged or destroyed, and over temperature condition can even result in fires and other safety related events.